Émile Jean François Régis Voyron was a 19th-century French general most notable for his service in the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

and the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

Early life

Voyron was born in Dieulefit in southeastern France on 5 August 1838. He entered the

École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (, , abbr. ESM) is a French military academy, and is often referred to as Saint-Cyr (). It is located in Coëtquidan in Guer, Morbihan, Brittany. Its motto is ''Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre'', litera ...

in 1858.

Career

He earned the rank of second lieutenant of the

1st Marine Infantry Regiment The 1st Marine Infantry Regiment () is a French regiment heir of the colonial infantry. The regiment is one of the regiments of the Troupes de Marine, with the 2nd Marine Infantry Regiment 2e RIMa, the 3rd Marine Infantry Regiment 3e RIMa, as ...

colonial regiment. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1863 while serving in

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

. In 1864, he traveled to

Cochinchina Cochinchina or Cochin-China (, ; ; ; ; ) is a historical exonym and endonym, exonym for part of Vietnam, depending on the contexts, usually for Southern Vietnam. Sometimes it referred to the whole of Vietnam, but it was commonly used to refer t ...

in Southeast Asia, where he earned the rank of captain. Voyron returned to France in 1870. He was wounded in the

Battle of Bazeilles The Battle of Bazeilles was fought on 1 September 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War as a portion of the larger Battle of Sedan and was one of the first battles to feature modern urban warfare tactics. It took place in Bazeilles, France, a ...

while serving in the 12th Army Corps during the

. He was interned in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, Germany until 1871. In 1872, Voyron was sent to

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

, where he remained for four years. He was then appointed lieutenant-colonel and served in

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

twice. He reached the rank of colonel in 1885 while commanding the Fourth Marine Infantry Regiment. He left for

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, including both the ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

in 1887. On 17 June 1891, Voyron was promoted to brigadier general. He later became Inspector General in

Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African List of kingdoms in Africa throughout history, kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. It developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in ...

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

. In 1895, he served as senior commander of the 2nd Brigade of the Expeditionary Force during the

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

expedition. On 21 August 1895, Voyron confronted the Malagasy army, which was entrenched behind fortifications in Andriba. His forces emerged victorious. The next day, his forces took control of the Andriba Valley without firing any shots. On 1 October 1895, Madagascar's queen

Ranavalona III Ranavalona III (; 22 November 1861 – 23 May 1917) was the last sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar. She ruled from 30 July 1883 to 28 February 1897 in a reign marked by ultimately futile efforts to resist the colonial designs of the go ...

signed the protectorate treaty. In 1896, Voyron took command of the Cherbourg Brigade in northern France. Voyron was promoted to Inspector General in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

, then to major general in 1898. He commanded the French Expeditionary Force in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in 1900 during the

. At the end of the revolt, in 1900, he was appointed to the Superior Council of War. Voyron retired in 1903 and died on 26 November 1921. He was interred in La Voulte, France.

Awards

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

: knight (31 January 1872), officer (3 April 1883), commander (3 May 1889), grand officer (30 December 1895), grand cross (1901). *

Médaille militaire The ''Médaille militaire'' (, "Military Medal") is a military decoration of the French Republic for other ranks for meritorious service and acts of bravery in action against an enemy force. It is the third highest award of the French Republic, ...

: 29 December 1903 * Medal of the expeditions of Cochinchina, Cambodia, Senegal, Sudan, Tonkin, Annam, Madagascar, China

Foreign awards

*: Order of Leopold *

Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...

: Order of the Star of Anjouan *:

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

Nguyễn dynasty The Nguyễn dynasty (, chữ Nôm: 茹阮, chữ Hán: 朝阮) was the last List of Vietnamese dynasties, Vietnamese dynasty, preceded by the Nguyễn lords and ruling unified Vietnam independently from 1802 until French protectorate in 1883 ...

: Order of the Dragon of Annam *: Grand Cross of the

Order of St. Alexander Nevsky The Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was an order of chivalry of the Russian Empire first awarded on by Empress Catherine I of Russia. History The introduction of the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was envisioned by Emperor ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

: Nichan Iftikhar *: Military Order of the Dragon

References

External links

Authority control In information science, authority control is a process that organizes information, for example in library catalogs, by using a single, distinct spelling of a name (heading) or an identifier (generally persistent and alphanumeric) for each top ...

,
Virtual international authority fileStandard Name IdentifierLibrary of France
*https://data.bnf.fr/en/10725209/regis_voyron/, data
WorldCat
* Literature resource
Academy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Voyron, Regis 1838 births 1921 deaths French generals French military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War